Though it was not intended at the time of writing, many years later, from a detached non-possessive actor's perspective I realised that all these poems lend itself to performance. Perhaps the actor in me visualised these images as if it were a play unfolding before me where I was the narrator, the character, and the audience as well. Some of them have actually been performed on stage.

Friday, November 28, 2014

people . . . .

i watch them go by
in cars and on scooters.

people.

i have no need
of cars and scooters
for i
am not people.

i
am the chant of faceless lamas
in malodorous monasteries
the music
of smoke rising from
discarded cigarette butts
the howl of a haunted wolf
on a windblown night
the whisper
of an unseen waterfall
somewhere
in the hills, and at times
the fury of earthquakes
and tornadoes and tidal waves
all combined.

i can never be
people
i tried once
and the girl in my arms withered
and became
dust, in my embrace.

i picked up the remnants of her bones
and built a room
and hung her skull
on the doorframe.

people.
they pass me by.
they know the story of the skull
on my doorframe.
they read it in my eyes
and recoil.

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About Me

Ex-Army Officer - Served in Allahabad and Sikkim. Spent 3 years in the mountains, where a lot of my poetry was written. Left the army for theatre and writing and ended up selling weighing machines (Avery India)for a while, and then various communication and office automation products for 21 years in Godrej. Did over 40 years of theatre alongside. Left Godrej as Regional Manager (South India) for my division, to take up full time training for corporates, using a theatre-based methodology which I developed for the benefit of my own teams in Godrej. This methodology came to be known as "CorporateTheatre". Currently doing a good deal of theatre as well as training.
paulmathew80@gmail.com